Prevalence and relative risk of canine dirofilariosis among dogs in Seoul, South Korea

摘要

Dirofilariosis is a serious clinical problem in dogs, cats and other domestic animals in endemic areas (Soulsby 1982, Copland and others 1992, Nogami and Sato 1997, Montoya and others 1998, Kalkstein and others 2000, Theis and others 2001). The causative agent, Dirofilaria immitis, has been reported in human beings in many countries. The infection is usually asymptomatic and microfilaria are not produced (Zaman and Keong 1995, Cancrini and others 2000, Skidmore and others 2000). There have been fewreports of canine dirofilariosis in Korea, suggesting that it is relatively rare. However, it is of increasing importance as an imported disease and the intermediate hosts of the parasite, mosquitoes belonging to the genera Culex, Aedes and Anopheles, are present in the country (Seong and others 1996). This short communication reports work to determine the prevalence rate and relative risk of canine dirofilariosis among 17,644 healthy dogs examined at eight private veterinary practices throughout the metropolitan city of Seoul.